Kasirye, Naluwooza dominate badminton

Dec 19, 2016

It has not only been Kasirye’s moment to shine but he has also set the tone for a new era

At 16 years, Brian Kasirye is a house hold name  in the local badminton fraternity after he beat almost all the senior players to win a number of accolades this year.

It has not only been Kasirye's moment to shine but he has also set the tone for a new era for youngsters to come out strongly and increase the level of competition on local scene.

Kasirye's recent victory was at the City Tyres East African Challenge Badminton Open tournament where he walloped Ndejje University's Jacob Musisi  in straight sets, (21-10, 21-16) to win the men's title at Lugogo in October.

In the same tournament, the 16-year-old Kakungulu Memorial student had earlier beaten another senior player David Senono 2-1 to clinch the U-19 title.

He later teamed up with his elder sister Sylvia Nalunga to defeat Herbert Ebayo and Gladys Mbabazi at the final of the mixed doubles.

Meanwhile in the earlier tournaments this season, Kasirye also put an end to Daniel Mihigo's dominance on the local scene during the inaugural Tamil Sangam East Africa Badminton Challenge.

He started the day by beating Kenya's seed-one Joseph Githithu (18-21, 21-18, 21-15) in the semi-finals before handing USPA 2015 badminton player of year 2015  Mihigo a 2-1 defeat in the final.

Kasirye also beat Israel Wanagalya, 2-1 and Davis Senono (2-0) to take the U-19 titles at the Picfare Schools Badminton tournament and Taibah Schools Badminton Tournament early this year.

Naluwooza stands out

As Kasirye dominated the men's category, 10-year-old Tracy Naluwooza and Shamika Fadhila also pushed their rivalry in the sport to another level in the girl's category.

Fadhila stunned Naluwooza in a 2-1 (8-21, 21-18, 24-22) thriller to end her back-to-back title defeats in the U-13 girl's category during the Taibah Schools tournament.

But her moment didn't last that long after Naluwooza got her way back to the top as she beat her at the Picfare Schools, Tamil Sangam and the City Tyres U-13 finals.
 
Tough year for Ekiring

Whereas Uganda's female top seed Shamim Bangi had a good year, her male counterpart and Edwin Ekiring had the worst season ever.

The Netherlands-based players failed to qualify for the Brazil Olympic Games.

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